How to Draw a Bull Icon

Drawing a bull icon ... that's the subject of this lesson! Using all the most basic shapes, lines and colors possible, let's see how we can illustrate this wonderful animal so that the result can remain simple and visually interesting.

Bulls are easily recognizable with their long and pointed horns, thick tail and large ring placed inside the nose. My goal is to show you how you can draw a cartoon bull with as little shapes as possible. No complex lines or elements are added to this illustration, only basic shapes.

Ready? Let's start creating this animal now!

Step 1

It's always a good idea to draw a couple of shapes to help us locate the character on the work space before proceeding with the drawing part. First, you can draw a large square to form the head. The body is made from a huge rectangle. Finally, draw four smaller rectangles to illustrate the legs. That's all we need for now!

Step 2

Inside these shapes, draw the bull using mostly curved lines. Although the body, the head and the legs are quite similar to the basic shapes drawn earlier, these new elements do have round corners as shown below. You can also draw the hooves using small rectangles. Once these basic shapes are added, you can remove all basic elements drawn with an orange outline.

Step 3

Let's work around the head now ... On top of this one, draw two large horns made from broken lines. Inside the head, draw the eyes and the pupils using small circles. The mouth is done using a simple line. Complete this third step by creating small ears on both sides of the head.

Step 4

We are almost done for the drawing aspect of this lesson on how to create a bull icon. Inside the mouth (or near the jaw), draw the nose using two small circular shapes. The ring is done using two long curved lines. Near the back of the bull, draw the tail using long straight lines and an oval shape.

Step 5

It's time for some colors! Brown ones! Indeed, the whole cartoon bull can be filled with a dark brown color. Make sure the head is slightly brighter for better readability. The area around the nose can be much brighter and the horns are grey (because white horns on a white background is definitely not a good idea). The pupils and the hooves can be colored in black.

Why choose a different color for the head?

As you can see below, the head and the ears are now filled with the same color used for the body. Not pretty convincing! The left ear is now invisible and the head seems joined with the body, which is not the desired effect we are looking for. When drawing images with no outlines, it's crucial to use colors to create contrast and separate shapes from one another.

Are outlines important?

Like I said earlier, our goal was to create a bull icon, not a cartoon bull. The difference is important. Icons are usually simpler and easier to read. Using outlines can convert this wonderful icon into a cartoon illustration, which is not what we want.

Using another brown color

It's also important to use an accurate color when creating a cartoon animal like this one. See how the version below seems weird?

Adding digital effects

If you are using a vector application to create your character, then adding some digital effects can also be fun and interesting. Just be careful not to overused all this power! A great effect doesn't necessarily mean a great illustration!

And that's how we draw a bull icon!

I hope you enjoyed this lesson on how to draw a simple bull like the one shown on this page. You can see all steps required to sketch this animal below. You are also invited to draw more characters from the same series here. Have fun! :)